"A lot of them are saying a lack of jobs, they're stressed about getting good results so they can get employment," he said.

Body image worries were also common and Mr Mundy says schools can help change attitudes.

"Young people are bombarded with what you should look like."

"I've had chats with the Children's Commissioner, for instance, and we're keen to try and develop some information, but more importantly the opportunities for young people to talk about those issues.

"Sure there's some major concerns but people are willing to identify them and talk to their friends or their families, so we need to be skilling up those people to have those conversations with young people."

On a lighter note, 77 per cent of the young Tasmanians surveyed said they were happy, compared with 69 per cent nationally.

It's a fundamental human yearning to be a part of something bigger than one's self, and maybe that's what drove my mate Ash to die, far from home, in a bloody foreign war against Islamic State, writes C August Elliott.